“I need a bolt,” I yelled.
“For what?”
“I have an idea.”
I came out of my vision and knew what had to be done. Zeus stared at me and knew I saw what was going to happen. His nod was all the assurance I needed. I lead our small army forward, past the giant and to the top of Olympus.
“Alright, this is what’s going to happen. Hades will be back with Heracles. Zeus was right, we need him. He’s the key to destroying the giants. The rest of us will battle. I don’t know how it ends but I think I know how to overcome Cronus.”
As I was talking, I heard horse hooves on the hard marble. We turned and saw Cronus and his brothers emerge from the fog one by one. Coeus, Crius, Hyperion and Iapetus fell back, allowing Cronus to be the center. They looked toward him as if waiting for his command. I could already see how they were different from us. They stalked toward us, crouching like tigers ready to attack. Their broad shoulders and height were intimidating. They all had long, straggly hair, their clothing was frayed and they weren’t wearing shoes. As they approached, we took guard. Adrian and Adronis were shifting their weight uneasily. Hades arrived suddenly and with a surprise. Not only was Heracles with him but so was Hera.
“What are you doing here?” Zeus asked her.
“You didn’t really think I’d miss a battle did you?” she asked.
Her tall, statuesque figure looked amazing in armor. Her long blonde hair was tucked under her collar and the helmet matched Zeus’. All of her armor did. Heracles stepped up next to me, smiling. He was a striking man. A leather cord wrapped around the crown of his head held his hair in place; he wore brownish black armor with two swords in his hands and no shield. His bronzed skin shone with sweat under the sunlight. His perfectly chiseled chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing. He was remarkably calm.
“So you’re the savior of the world, huh?”
“I guess I am. You’re Heracles?”
“I am.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“You, too.”
I heard a crazy, bloodthirsty roar erupt from my left. When I looked to see who it came from I wasn’t entirely shocked, it was Ares. He had a crazed look on his face. He truly was a god of war. His chest was rising and falling quickly. He was excited and ready to go. The rage that welled inside of him was bubbling over. He had been waiting centuries for something like this to happen. I turned my attention back to the Titans. Their eyes were shifty and untrusting. The seconds slipped by, they felt like hours. I was completely engrossed with my own thoughts, that I didn’t notice Cronus take a step forward.
“This is going to be too easy,” he said, smiling.
“What is?” I croaked.
“Killing you.”
“Why do you want to kill me?”
“You’re my only real threat. You are the only daughter of the two gods of war, the favorite and the least favorite of Zeus. The amount of power in you is remarkable.” he took a few more steps toward me.
Ares, Athena, Zeus, and Adrian closed in around me. Protecting me.
I pushed past them, standing face to face with the vile monster. “The only reason you want to kill me is because of who my parents are?”
“No you insufferable child. I want to kill you because of why you were born. Why two people who despise each other procreated and brought you into the world,” he said.
I turned, looking at Athena and Ares. They refused to look me in the eyes.
“You two hate each other?” I asked.
Their silence spoke a thousand words. It was true; they hated each other.
“I already know why I was born,” I said.
“You know you were born only to protect them and kill me?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t it upset you that you are being used?”
“That is beside the point. You have no right destroying mankind or the world,” I snapped.
“This is my world! Not theirs!” he shouted at me.
“No it’s not. The world belongs to the humans. Not the gods. Not anymore.”
“You would deny us our right to rule over those pathetic mortals?” He appeared baffled.
“It isn’t your right or ours. They have the ability to live on their own, to choose how they go through their lives. It’s not up to you. Or us.”
He didn’t answer. The pleasure of teasing me and gloating was wearing off. The smirk was off his face and cold, stone hard eyes stared at me filled with hatred and anger. He took a few more steps toward me. All six foot whatever of him towered over my five foot four frame. I felt the crushing weight of his hand against my chest. I flew backwards and into one of the few standing pillars nearby. I sunk to the ground unable to breathe. I tried sucking in the air. The pain that shot through my chest was unbearable.
He must have broken a few bones. Can my bones break?
“Cara!” Adrian screamed and tried running to my side.
I stared up at him with terrified eyes. Coeus lifted his arm and flung it to the side and with the one motion Adrian was lifted into the air and slammed into one of the walls of a fallen building. I tried to scream. My voice had left with my breath. For being immortal I was having a lot of mortal problems. I heard the crunching of Cronus’ feet on the rocks. Barely catching my breath, I sat up staring at him. Using my sword I stood up, swaying a bit.
“No. More,” I gasped.
“You’re stronger than I thought. You’re confused aren’t you? Thought you were immortal. Nothing could hurt you,” a sly sneer spread across his face, “Nothing mortal can hurt you. I have a wonderful fate set for you. It starts with this sword. I’ll cut you up a bit. There’s nothing wrong with some blood. Once I’m satisfied that you’ve suffered enough that way I’ll slice open your belly and then decapitate you.”
“That’s a bit morbid even for you, don’t you think?”
“I think it’s perfect for a creature that was created solely for my destruction,” he said smugly.
I quit talking. He was right. I was born simply for this task. To kill him. I didn’t even like killing bugs, how could I kill a man? Even if it was a vile, disgusting man, he’s still a man. I stood leaning against my sword and holding onto my chest. I felt another blow, only this time the hand was invisible. I watched as Coeus stared intently at me, never breaking gaze , his evil red eyes burrowing into my mind. I dropped my sword and grabbed my head, finding my voice. My ear piercing shriek resounded off the rubble around me. I somehow heard a swooshing sound past my head and the pounding stopped. I looked up and saw an arrow protruding from Coeus’ shoulder. A small trail of blood trickled from the wound. I turned to see Apollo with his bow raised. He nodded at me and I knew what had to be done.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I picked my sword back up and stepped forward. There were only two of us who could defeat the Titans and giants. I had decided not to kill them. They were going right back where they were, sort of. The underworld was going to have an underworld. Tartarus was not a good enough place. It needed to be more secure, just one more level down.
“Are you ready, Cara?” Heracles asked.
“Yes.”
He ran to the left while I went to the right. The two giants were on either side of the Titans. I went straight for Cronus. The other gods followed close behind attacking the remaining four. I raised my sword above my head and brought it down on him. Instead of feeling the blade tear into flesh I heard the clanging of metal on metal. He wasn’t going to go down easily. I brought my sword back up but not fast enough. He brought his down on my back. I could feel it crunch into my armor. It hurt but I didn’t feel it cut into my skin. Wincing, I stood.
“Is that all you got, Cronus?” I taunted.
He roared with rage and charged at me. He swung the sword at me again but I was able to block it with my own. The pressure and weight of his swing brought me to my knees but I kept my blade up. Summoning strength from somewhere deep inside, I shoved back. He stumbled a
bit but regained his balance and charged forward. I braced myself for the blow. He appeared to be going high but surprised me by going low. His blade caught me in the side of my calf. I let out a scream of pain. The tears automatically began flowing down my cheeks. The feeling of the blade being pulled out of my flesh stung. With each movement I could feel another tendon ripping and another layer of skin being sliced open. It was an excruciating pain. I looked at the gaping wound. I was losing a lot of blood. I bit my lip as the tears continued to flow. I stood, putting most of my weight on the right leg and faced Cronus.
“Are you serious? Why won’t you just die?” he bellowed at me.
“I’m not going to give up,” I sputtered. “You do know who my parents are right?”
I tried so hard to keep a straight face and not collapse. The pain was overwhelming and I didn’t know how much more I could endure.
“Look at yourself, goddess. You’re defeated. You’re dying so just give up.”
“I’m not dead yet.”
I hobbled to Zeus and reached for one of his bolts. I was able to grab one when I felt a tightening around my neck. My feet lifted off the ground and I was thrown to the right. The bolt fell from my hand and lay next to a pile of shattered marble. I scrambled to grab it but felt a hand tighten on my ankle. I kicked my legs and managed to break free. The bolt was only a few inches away from my fingertips. I scrambled a bit more and wrapped my hand around it.
“What do you think that is going to do? Zeus tried for ten years and failed to kill me.”
I smiled wryly up at the monster. He had no idea what I had in mind.
“I’m not using just the bolt, Cronus.”
He watched as I took it and slammed it into my sword. Sparks flew and the two molded together. The sword transformed. It was no longer the normal longsword I had been wielding before. The hilt was a screeching eagle with the tail feather streaking down the blade like a bolt of lightning.
“How did you do that?” Cronus asked with a hint of panic in his voice.
“I’m not your typical goddess. You see, being the daughter of Athena and Ares, granddaughter of Zeus and Hera, I have a few extra tricks. I’m not only the ultimate goddess of war but I somehow can control my grandfather’s lightning; which seems to just baffle everybody, even Zeus. Now you can see why they so desperately wanted me to fight you. This war is not going to last for ten years.”
“Having a bigger sword isn’t going to do anything to help you,” he said right before he lunged at me.
I wasn’t sure what the sword would do differently, if anything. As our blades met sparks flew. I was slightly startled by this new revelation. For a moment I stared at it, not sure what to do next. Cronus’ body began to quiver and a low moan escaped his lips. The sword had electrocuted him. He stood, poised for attack. He lurched forward, swinging wildly. I dodged out of the way, but barely. I did a tuck and roll, landing smoothly back on my feet. I had a few seconds to look around at the rest of the gods. They were struggling. Demeter, Adrian and Adronis were battling Iapetus; Zeus, Hera, Hestia and Hades were fighting Coeus; Ares was taking on Hyperion himself; Athena, Poseidon and Hermes were battling Crius while Heracles was with the two giants. Cronus interrupted my observations as he surged towards me, blocking out everything else. I wasn’t fast enough this time. He brought his sword down on my back again. The only difference was my armor gave way. I heard a cracking and felt the sharp pain shoot through my body. I didn’t know how much more I could handle. An unnerving feeling started to take over.
We were going to die. The reign of the Olympians was about to be over. I was full of doubt. I couldn’t stand watching the others suffering. This wasn’t turning out right. This wasn’t what I saw in my vision. The sword was supposed to bring the end to everything. Why wasn’t Cronus dying? I had to be doing something wrong. But what? I tried to force it all out of my mind. I couldn’t let him get to me. I couldn’t let him cloud my judgment. I lifted my sword above my head and charged. The sparks flew again but I kept at it. Swing after swing, blow after blow. The panic that I felt was fueling an extreme adrenaline rush. I couldn’t feel the pains of the gashes that covered my body. My chiton hung onto me by the scraps that used to be straps. Sweat was pouring in my eyes. I couldn’t wipe my face because of my helmet. I tore it off and my wet hair clung to my neck. Breathing heavily, I continued with my barrage of attacks. A bloodthirsty lust was taking over. I could feel my anger and rage boiling in my every limb.
I wanted him dead.
My eyes were wild with craze. I didn’t even feel like me anymore. Something was taking me over. Something possessed my mind, willing me on. I let out a deep throated roar and didn’t give Cronus time to recoup from my last onslaught of blows. I sliced across his abdomen again, bringing him to his knees. I was so close to the end. I stood over him. My wild eyes staring down, I wanted blood.
His blood.
“Cara!” I turned to the voice, it was Athena.
I just looked at her. It was Ares genes taking over. I could feel the power taking form, shaping me. I could feel it surging through my veins. It craved two things, death and destruction. I had to kill. I had to create mayhem. My head began to thump, another migraine was coming on. I dropped my sword and grabbed my head falling to my knees.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Athena grunted while jabbing at Coeus with her spear.
The sky split open with a deafening boom. Lightning streamed across it. Rain began to pour down on us. Cronus was advancing on me now. The deafening pound of my migraine inhibited me from fighting back. He kicked me in the gut while I writhed on the ground in agony.
Everything around me began to transform.
“No! Not now! I can’t have one now!” It was no use.
They came whether I wanted them to or not.
Everything began to transform again. We weren’t on Olympus anymore. I was standing back on the Parthenon’s stairs where this all began.
I spun around trying to figure out what was going on. I saw everyone lying around me, dead. I looked down at my hands, they were covered in blood. My chiton was torn and stained red. A wound in my stomach ached and seeped more blood.
So. Much. Blood.
The only other beings left alive were Cronus and Heracles. His body was bloody and broken but he was fierce. I looked down at my own body. I couldn’t even see my porcelain skin anymore. It was covered in blood and dirt. Everything on me hurt. We stood there staring at each other, neither of us sure who was or should make the first move. As I stood there it felt weird. I knew I was in my body but it didn’t feel like it.
“Come fight me, goddess, if there is anything left in you to fight.” He laughed.
He began his ascent up the stairs. Before he could reach me though, everything changed back. Everything came into focus in enough time for me to see Cronus standing over top of me. He seemed to be moving in slow motion. I rolled to the right and off the ledge of the floor of the building. I landed with a thud in the dirt below. Cronus jumped off the building and landed beside me. His sword hit right next to my head, clanging off a rock. I rolled to the left and stopped as I saw the blade crunch through a hunk of marble. I rocked backward; my feet went up over my head. It was just in time. The piercing blade slammed into the ground where I had been.
“Where is Hephaestus? I’m out of bolts,” Zeus yelled.
“What?” I screeched.
“I’m out of bolts.”
“Now are you ready to die?” Cronus asked me.
I grabbed a handful of dirt and crumbled marble and threw it into his face. He screamed trying to wipe it away. I ran to the others trying to clear my mind enough to figure out a plan.
“I had another vision.”
“What? When?” Athena asked.
“A few minutes ago.” I turned my attention to Zeus. “If something were to happen to you, would I be able to reverse all of this?”
“I don’t know. Seeing as how you’r
e my granddaughter and were able to handle one of my bolts to transform your sword, I don’t see why not. You saw my destruction?”
I choked back a sob, “I saw everyone dead.”
“Everyone?”
I turned to Adrian. He was bloodied and bruised, his lifeless eyes stared up at me.
“Everyone,” I whispered.
He simply nodded.
“We were at the acropolis and everybody was dead. The only ones left were Cronus, Heracles and me. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I didn’t see how to kill him.”
Zeus watched me. His eyes full of worry and concern. He didn’t know what to do either. Every fiber of my being knew we were doomed. There was no way a newly created goddess could defeat the leader of the Titans. I knew it and Zeus knew it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“If we’re going to be leaving, how do we get off Olympus?” Hera asked, removing her helmet.
“The chariots,” Zeus replied nonchalantly.
“They’re not here,” she reminded him.
He just looked at her and she rolled her eyes.
“Am I missing something?” I asked.
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